A month before Election Day, President Barack Obama's campaign and Democrats posted an impressive fundraising haul, easing the party's concerns that he would face a money disadvantage against his well-financed Republican rival in the crucial closing days. Romney shrugged off a drop in unemployment, an issue at the heart of the race, contending it's "crystal clear" a jobs crisis endures.

WASHINGTON Mitt Romney outraised President Barack Obama in May, the first time the Republican presidential challenger has jumped ahead of Obama and his prodigious fundraising apparatus. The numbers illustrate how Romney and the Republican Party have jelled as a force after a protracted GOP primary.